Office of Public Affairs

Festival XIII Speakers

Speaker Bios

 Tai Phan

Phan is the first Chief Artificial Intelligence and Technology Officer for the State of Oklahoma. Appointed in November 2025, Phan leads Oklahoma's strategy for deploying artificial intelligence and digital modernization across more than 125 state agencies, boards and commissions. Phan oversees AI systems and implementation across public safety, health, transportation and financial services in the state. He’s also responsible for establishing ethical standards, safeguards and best practices to ensure transparency and data privacy.

Brad Carson

Carson is the president of Americans for Responsible Innovation, an advocacy group promoting thoughtful governance and safety guardrails for technologies such as artificial intelligence. He has extensive experience spanning public service, national defense, higher education and elected office. Carson represented Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District from 2001-2005 and was president of the University of Tulsa from 2021-2025. He co-founded the Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Responsible Innovation in late 2023 to advocate for public-interest policies balancing AI innovation with risk mitigation.

 Angus Fletcher

A practitioner of story science, Fletcher holds degrees in neuroscience and literature. His research employs a mix of laboratory experiment, literary history and rhetorical theory to explore the psychological effects – cognitive, behavioral, therapeutic – of different narrative technologies. His research explores why children are more creative than computer AI – and how to use literature, art, and stories to increase innovation, resilience, and joy. Fletcher’s books include Primal Intelligence, Wonderworks, A Field Guide to Creative Thinking, Storythinking, and Narrative Creativity.

Paul Scharre

Scharre is the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security, an award-winning author, and a former U.S. Army Ranger. At the Center for a New American Security, he leads studies on national security. He previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he helped draft policy on autonomous weapons. Scharre holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from King's College London and was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI” in 2023.

 Brian Christian

Christian is best known for his bestselling books exploring the human and societal implications of computer science and artificial intelligence. Christian holds degrees in computer science and philosophy from Brown University and studied cognitive science and machine learning at the University of Oxford. His works include The Most Human Human, which explores what communication and language tests reveal about human nature and The Alignment Problem, which investigates the ethics, safety challenges, and moral questions surrounding artificial intelligence.

Roman Yampolskiy

Yampolskiy is a computer scientist, author and University of Louisville professor and is best known as a leading expert in artificial intelligence safety, security and cybersecurity. Founder and director of the Cyber Security Lab since 2012, he specializes in AI safety, AI alignment, existential risk, behavioral biometrics, and digital forensics. He is well-known for arguing that artificial superintelligence is fundamentally uncontrollable. His works include Artificial Superintelligence: A Futuristic Approach, Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security and AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable.